COLLEGE MEN’S SOCCER: Cougars tie Aces, earn MVC Tourney bye

Staff report

Published 10:01 am, Sunday, November 6, 2016

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COLLEGE MEN’S SOCCER: Cougars tie Aces, earn MVC Tourney bye

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EVANSVILLE, Ind. – SIUE men’s soccer concluded its regular season with a 1-1 double-overtime tie at Evansville, and in the process secured the No. 2 seed for next week’s Missouri Valley Conference Tournament.

The Cougars are now 8-4-5 overall and 4-1-3 in MVC play. SIUE will carry a 10-game unbeaten streak into the tournament. SIUE will play the first semifinal of the tournament at 3 p.m. Friday.

“Our goal from day one is to win the MVC tournament,” SIUE coach Mario Sanchez said. “Getting the bye is most important.”

“We want to compete for league championships and get to the NCAA Tournament,” Sanchez continued. “We didn’t the league this year, but the tie tonight allows us to get that bye, which can help us get to the NCAA Tournament.”

Evansville moved to 9-7-3 overall and 4-2-2 in league play. The Purple Aces are the No. 3 seed in the tournament and will face the winner of the Drake vs. Bradley opening round game.

The Cougars got on the broad early Saturday. Lachlan McLean picked up his third goal of the year after besting a pair of defenders and then Evansville goalkeeper Frederik Reimer.

“It was a good individual effort,” Sanchez said of the goal. “We the game well and he started the game well. He is playing better every day. That’s why we brought him here.”

The Purple Aces answered before halftime. Jared Robinson got a pass into the box and redirected it past SIUE goalkeeper Kyle Dal Santo.

“We let up a little bit,” Sanchez said. “They worked their way back in. They definitely deserved the goal.”

Sanchez was happy with the way the Cougars defended and specifically how they defended restarts.

“We defended restarts really well,” he said “We know that they play a huge part in the tournament.”